A Whole Different Way
by BiancaJ
Summary: Incorporates the last scene from the episode A Stranger Among Us and what might have happened afterwards. Eventual JW paring.
1. Default Chapter

Authors Note: Hey Ya! This is just a quick introduction as I'm new here and I'd like to say thankyou for reading my first attempt at fan fiction. Constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated as long as it's constructive. Anyways, I'm an Aussie and we're a tad behind the US in the airing of the current series – Heck,'You've Really Got Me' has only just aired here after two looooooong weeks of repeats cause of a non rating period over the Easter brake. Don't get me wrong, repeats are better than no Crossing Jordan at all, but when you are really hanging out to see a certain scene on the roof of the LA morgue two weeks can be a really long time, Sigh!. Anyway, while Sydney has been on new episode hiatus, I've been getting my CJ fix from watching old taped episodes. While viewing 'A Stranger Among Us' this idea popped into my head and hasn't gone away so I've run with it, hehe! Hope you like it

Bee 

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Disclaimer: I don't own them! I wish I did though! I'm just borrowing them for fun and I promise they will be returned unharmed so please don't sue, besides, I'm a nurse so it really isn't worth it anyway! The first part is a recap of the last scene from the episode 'A Stranger Among Us' which is the property of NBC – Universal Television, Tailwind productions et al.

So let the fun begin………………………………………………………………………………….

**A Whole Different Way:**

"Woody" Garrett asked indicating to one of the glasses in his hand filled with decent shots of scotch.

"No thankyou, I'm Driving" He replied

"I'll take his" Jordan piped up

"Not alone" said Garrett as he divided the extra drink between his and Jordan's glass.

"Easy Folks Woody warned with a smile. Garrett Chuckled

"Ok" Sighed Jordan as she and Garrett raised their glasses. "To the innocent victims, May they rest in peace!" She and Garrett clink their glasses. Woody flicked his fingers against Jordan's glass and they share a brief smile.

"That was a stupid thing you did tonight Jordan!" Garrett said as he sat own on the desk

"Putting yourself out there for a perfect stranger!" Woody added

"Going back to the scene of the crime unprotected" Included Garrett

"And this surprises you how?" Jordan quips trying for her usual sarcastic nonchalance.

"You were lucky!" Woody said not allowing her to brush it off. "It could have ended u a whole different way!" He gave Jordan a pointed look and she at least had the grace to look bashful.

"And believe it or not there are still a few of us around here who would miss you if it had" Garrett stated.

"Wow!" Jordan says with 'mock' surprise, looking from one to the other, "Backhanded as that was I'll just take it as a complement!"

"Hey!" woody says as Pamela appears at the office door. "You ready?"

"I think so" she nervously replies.

"Her mum is meeting us at the precinct" Woody fills in

"I haven't seen or spoken to her in over three months and I probably wouldn't be doing so now if it weren't for you guys!" As she crosses over to kiss Garret on the Cheek she adds "Thankyou doest quite cover it!"

"It'll do" replies Garrett

Pamela then turns to Jordan and hugs her to Jordan's surprise. She and Woody exit the office and walk towards the precinct, Woody waving as they go.

Jordan then turns back to Garrett who says "Ok, so you did one good thing tonight"

"We!" corrects Jordan indicating them both

"We did one good thing" Garrett amends.

"Did you mean that? When you were saying you actually care about what happens to me!"

"Of cause I did" he replies surprised at her need to ask.

"Soooo would that also include my financial health?" She asks with a hopeful expression

Garrett Chuckles

"Ahhh Ok! Ya, Yeah I didn't think so, Cool!"

They sit down on the lounge in Jordan's office and chat (END OF EPISODE) about inconsiquencial things for 20minutes or so until they are interrupted by a loud growl from Garrett's tummy.

"Hmmmm" he says on a sigh, "I'm hungry. How about dinner on the boss seeing your financial health is a little under the weather?"

"What girl in my position could say no to an offer like that? Sure! dinner sounds great" she replies. They pick up their coats and leave the morgue, crossing the street to a restaurant on the other side.

While they enjoyed their dinner, they both continue chatting about work and home. An hour and a half later Jordan, breaks of mid sentence, and fails miserably to mask a huge yawn.

"Gee Jordan, I never realised dinner with me was such a boring occasion!" said Garrett with feigned hurt.

Jordan laughed out loud. "Don't take it that way diddums! I'm bushed! Hunting down killers, finding rogue FBI agents and being shot at are all kinda taxing you know! I guess if I don't get myself to bed sometime soon, you won't see me till after lunch tomorrow. Hey! Then again, that could be a good thing" She adds with a sly smile.

Garrett looks at her and shakes his head.

"Come on Cinderella, Let's get you to your chariot before it turns back into a pumpkin"

They both get up. Collecting their belongings, Garrett throws money on the table for their meals. As they cross the street and walk back to the Morgue's car park Garrett takes Jordan's arm.

"Seriously Jordan, you did take a huge risk to night." He holds up his other hand to quiet the protest he knew was coming. "I know your impulsiveness is part of who you are but please, next time think before you go charging off, OK!. There are a lot of people who love you, and who don't want to see you get hurt."

As they reach her car Jordan un locks the door and sighs. "Yes Boss, next time I will. I didn't particularly like being shot at you know! Right now I just want to soak in a bath and get some shut eye" Garrett closes the door behind her, "Drive safely"

"I will" She replies

"Goodnight Jordan!"

"Goodnight Garrett"

And she drives off.

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As Jordan locks her apartment door behind her she leans against it and sighs. It really hadn't been a great day couple of days. First the multiple homicide at the diner, then the entrance of the two suspect FBI agents which all culminated this evening with hers and Pamala's attempted murder. What was with those FBI agents anyway! One thingshe really can't stand is people who don't treat the dead with respect. The way the two agents just walked in and manhandled the young Swedish woman's body still makes her blood boil. At least they won't be doing it again in a hurry seeing one is now laying on a slab himself and the other is going for no expense spared holiday to Leavenworth for a VERY long time. She walks into her lounge dropping her bag and coat on the chair then walks to the bathroom, shedding clothes along the way. She turns on the bath, running it nice and hot, adding a little of her favourite lavender bath oil and a bath bomb for some bubbles. Jordan then walks back out to the kitchen and pours herself a glass of red wine. Re-entering the bathroom she pins up her hair, climbs into the tub and sinks down into the water. Stretching out she has a few sips of wine then closes her eyes and relaxes.

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Jordan is startled awake 30 minutes later by a loud thumping at her door. The water has cooled so she lets it out and climbs out of the tub wrapping a large fluffy towel around herself. She picks up her glass of wine and goes to answer the door, when she's almost there it's banged again.

"Jordan! Jordan open up" calls a familiar voice

"I'm coming" She replies as she hurriedly opens the door, wondering what's so important for this late night visit.

She opens the door and surprise is evident on her visitors face

"Hey Woody! Whatcha doing here?"

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Ok, that's it for chapter one. If I type any longer Ill fall asleep and I won't get up in time for work tomorrow (I hate Saturday morning Shifts), Please let me know what you think. P.S. Any grammatical or spelling mistakes are all mine. It was proofed but I may have missed a few, sorry! 


	2. Chapter 2

Authors Note: A HUGE thankyou for those who have reviewed. It is greatly appreciated. Chapter Two is up! Hope you enjoy!

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Disclaimer: I don't own them! I wish I did though! I'm just borrowing them for fun and I promise they will be returned unharmed so please don't sue, besides, I'm a nurse so it really isn't worth it anyway!

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**A Whole Different Way: Chapter Two**

"Woody!...Woody? Are you ok" Jordan asks, somewhat bewildered at the look of stupor on Woody's face.

'Dear Lord, she's beautiful, she can even make a towel look sexy' thought Woody as he stood there transfixed by the sight of Jordan still damp wrapped in a towel.

"Woody, if you don't say something, I'm going to have to slap your face!" Jordan added amused at his silence but also a little concerned by it.

Woody shakes his head as if to clear it then re-focuses on Jordan. "Do you always answer the door wearing so little Jordan? He asked with raised eyebrows.

"Oh this!" She answers indicating the towel with mild relief. She turns around and walked back into the lounge "I was in the middle of a bath when you almost broke the door down, and as I didn't want to have to replace it because you tried again, I didn't have time to put anything else on". She turns back towards him with a sly grin and says in a somewhat seductive voice "If you really don't like it I could always, take it off!"

As Jordan reaches for the tie at the top of her towel she walks towards him, Woody swallows twice in rapid succession, clumsily side steps her and walks over towards the window looking out over the street. With his back towards her he she could see that he was breathing heavily. He says in an unsteady voice "Well it sure has been a hell of a day!" and coughs to clear his throat.

"That it has been Woody!" Jordan says humour evident in her voice. "Make yourself at home while I go and put something 'else' on ok!"

"Yea sure Jordan" he replies not trusting himself to turn around as she adjourns to the bedroom to pick up her pj's. When he hears the bathroom door close he sighs in relief. "Damn" he curses softly. Does that woman have any idea just how attractive she is? He audibly sighs when he realises that yes she does and she also knows the power she has over him with the little game of flirtation they've been playing for as long as they have known each other. Woody sighs again and turns back around taking his coat off and moves to make himself comfortable on the lounge. "Right" he says as he sits down giving himself a mental pep-talk. "Remember why you came! You are meant to be mad at her not turned on!" Woody sighed yet again. It has become an automatic habit (both the sighing and the being turned on) whenever he was dealing with anything to do with the woman behind the bathroom door. A woman who drove him mad yet whom he couldn't walk away from no matter the cost.

Meanwhile in the bathroom Jordan was changing into her pyjamas wondering what it was that was so important it would bring Woody by at 2330. After putting on her underwear she slipped into her boxer shorts, hurriedly pulled on a matching singlet top and lets down her hair. She picked up her comb off the vanity counter and runs it through her curly mane attempting to tame it as she walked back into the living room, noticing woody on the couch, she sits down next to him.

"So Woody! What brings you by at this late hour?" Jordan asks still brushing her hair

Taking a deep breath, Woody turns towards her and stills her hand. Looking into her eyes he says in a stern voice "YOU Ms Cavanaugh YOU!"

"Me!" States Jordan somewhat surprised. "What did I do?"

"You almost got yourself and another person damn well killed that's what! That FBI agent wasn't playing games Jordan, he was playing for real. He would have shot you where you stood and not given it another thought, then hunted down Pamela and did the same thing to her. What were you thinking going back there?"

Listening to Woody's spiel Jordan was getting a little worked up. Standing up in front of him with her hands on her hips Jordan starts "I thought we've already been through this at the office earlier. I was doing my JOB that's what I was doing Woodrow! Working through the shooting with the only person who had any clue as to why those people were murdered!. The only person who could help us work out who the real culprit was. And hey! Guess what! IT WORKED"

During Jordan's rant Woody stood in front of her and all but yelled back "Yea Jordan it worked! It worked really well! You gave us the bad guy, murder weapon still smoking in his hand. Well done, good for you, 10 points for Jordan!" Woody stopped, closed his eyes and took a shuddering breath. When he re-opened them he looked at her, still standing in front of him with her hands on her hips, stunned and angry yet with a hurt expression on her face. Woody's anger seemed to all but evaporate in that moment! He sat down dejectedly on the lounge. In a softer voice he added "But if Garrett and I were just 2 minutes later than what we were you wouldn't be standing here right now and we wouldn't be fighting". He looks up at her, his eye shiny and full of fear as he remembered what happened. "You would be on a slab next to his partner in the very morgue you work in!" Woody lowers his head and stares intently at his shoes.

Jordan dumbfounded just stares at Woody's lowered head. Confused she falls to her knees in front of him. Placing her hands on his thighs she says "Woody, what's going on? Where did this come from? When he refused to look at her, she lifts his head to meet her gaze and what she sees surprises her. His face is pale, his eyes suspiciously bright and expression grim.

"Woody what is it? What's wrong?" She asks, her voice soft and concern evident

It took a few seconds but finally Woody said "You scared me Jordan! When I found the agent dead in the car and then heard the shots from inside the diner I thought I was going to find you dead too, and it nearly killed me! My blood ran cold thinking that I had lost you too. Burying Devan was hard enough but the thought that you were gone and having to bury you, it almost brought me to my knees. If Garrett hadn't got me moving I don't know if I would have made it into the diner in time to stop him." He laughs bitterly, "I would have crumpled into a heap on the footpath if he prodded me" and he looks away from her again. "Garret was wrong when he said that some people would have missed you if you had died"

It took a couple of seconds for Jordan to find her voice but when she did she gruffly said "What do you mean?"

He looks back at her and says "Not only would I have missed you, a huge part of me would have died right along with you!"

Jordan, touched beyond words with what Woody has just said didn't know what to do so she hugged him tightly. Woody wraps his arms around her and held on to her like he was never going to let her go. They stay that was for a few minutes, content just to be there in each others arms.

Finally Jordan breaks away and says in true Jordan style "But nothing bad happened OK! I'm fine see…. I'm right here in front of you all in one piece. You know me, the proverbial cat." She adds with a grin and her usual indifference

"True but eventually cats use up their nine lives Jordan!" Woody adds seriously.

"Come on Wood. Don't go all serious and protective like on me again. It turned out ok! Yea sure it wasn't much fun and it scared me as well but we caught the bad guy. We did a good job and we work well as a team. All of us." She said getting up to sit beside him a little exasperated at his fussing.

"I just wish you would leave the police work side of things to me Jordan and you concentrate more on the bodies, that's all."

"What, and let you have all the fun! No way! She said with a grin and a friendly thump on his shoulder

"You just don't get it do you Jordan? Or do you? And you just don't care? He asks becoming angry again.

"Gee settle would you! That was a joke Woody! You are meant to laugh, like ha-ha!" Jordan replies

"Well I'm glad you find it all amusing Jordan I really am, but forgive me if I don't find watching the woman I lo…" he stops himself just before he lets the "L" word slip, "I mean, someone I care about almost get herself killed due to her own recklessness."

"I'm not reckless Woody!" Jordan emphasises

"Yea right and I'm Big Bird!" Woody bites back "Look I'm going!" He says as he gets up off the couch and picks up his Jacket. "Think about it Jordan. Think about what you are doing and for once think of the consequences! Goodnight!"

And with that Woody walked out the door.

Jordan sat on the lounge for about 10minutes after Woody left replaying the last half an hour over in her head. She was blown away with what had happened. He almost told her he loved her! What was with that? And Woody, who always appeared so calm and in control almost lost it over her being shot at. No she corrected, almost killed. And she would have been if Woody hadn't turned up when he did. She knew deep down that he had feelings for her, but that he loved her. Wow. She didn't know that they ran that deep! Who's she kidding, yes she did and it caused Jordan to break out in a cold sweat cause for she too had feelings for him but she had always kept them well hidden and on a tight leash only showing a little at a time not wanting it to go too far risking getting hurt. But maybe? The clock struck 0100. NO! She would not go there tonight or should she say this morning. She was going to go to bed and get some sleep for she needed to be at work in 7hours. Jordan got up off the couch and walked to her bed room. She pulled back the covers and laid down snuggling in. She yawned and thought to herself "I never really did thank Woody for saving me tonight. I'll have to in the morning." And with that Jordan closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

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But sleep didn't come until 0300 and as a result Jordan overslept. She ran around her apartment like a mad person trying to make it out the door on time. She missed breakfast and most importantly missed her first cup of coffee so heaven forbid anyone get in her way on her journey to the morgue. When she got to the lift compound of the office lobby the doors of the express lift were closing. "Hey hold the elevator" she yelled out and a familiar overcoat covered arm held open the door. "Oh no no no" he moans as Woody saw the person he risked loosing his arm for was Jordan. "Good morning to you to Woody" she replies to his greeting "Ill take the next car" he says as he makes for the door's. "Oh don't be ridiculous" exclaimed Jordan and she pulled him back as the elevator doors close…………………………………………………………………………………………………

So what do you think? I hope you enjoyed it. I tied it into the opening scene of Murder In The Rue Morgue (Which doesn't belong to me and is property of NBC, Tailwind Production et al.) cause is it just me, or does Woody seem extra cranky at Jordan in the opening scene, way more than for just the whole graphic description thingy. Anyway there is a sequel to come. Take care all.


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